Hospital gowns worn by patients generally consist of a unitary sheet of material having holes thereon for insertion of the patient's arms and they are roughly shaped to conform to a patient's body. Some gowns are wrapped around the body, and slots are employed to permit insertion of straps therethrough. However, most such garments are worn so that sides thereof are attached together by three or four straps arrayed along each side in a straight, vertical line, and the straps are located generally along the back of the patient. There is no overlap of the sides or any other portions thereof. One gown of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,557,385. This commonly used gown may be inexpensive to produce and relatively easy for an attendant to remove, but is has certain disadvantages for the patient. One of them is that the gown is usually donned from the front and the straps must be tied together to the rear of the patient. This makes it very difficult for a patient to dress and undress himself, especially if he has difficulty using his arms. A second disadvantge is that private areas to the rear of the patient are often inadvertently exposed, especially if the garment does not fit snugly or if the straps become unattached. If the straps do become undone, it is often very difficult for the patient to reattach them. Even if the garment is worn so that the sides are attached along the front of the patient, private areas in the front of the patient are often exposed, much to his embarrassment. A third disadvantage is that if it is desired to examine the front of the patient, the garment must either be ripped, or it must be removed entirely.
Some hospital gowns presently available, such as that found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,701,364, provide frontally disposed flaps for ease of examination. However, these garments are still secured together along the back of the patient, thereby making it difficult for the patient to dress and undress himself. In addition, because of the lack of overlap, there is still the possibility of patient exposure. Other gowns designed for complete coverage of the patient are neither comfortable nor medically desirable. These gowns are often difficult to remove from the patient in emergency situations and have a tendency to bind or constrict the patient, thus restricting his movements or preventing the proper circulation of blood while the patient is in a prone position.
Presently existing hospital patient gowns are inherently uncomfortable and unflattering to the patient, especially because of the tendency to expose private areas of the patient. Obviously, such gowns cannot be made in a variety of sizes and styles because of the cost involved, and thus, hospital gowns of the type presently on the market tend to be unattractive and dehumanizing. These gowns tend to depress and embarrass the patient, and this negative psychological impact can affect patient recovery and discourage the patient from leaving his bed.